Swimming pool construction



7 May 13, 1969 J, I S 3,443,263

SWIMMING POOL; CONSTRUCTION Filed April 17, 1967 Sheet of s y 13, 1969 A. J. MINASY 3,443,263

SWIMMING POOL CO-NSTRUC'I/ION Filed April 17, 1967 Sheet 2 of s 34 m Fi Afro/ma ia) United States Patent 3,443,263 SWIMMING POOL CONSTRUCTION Arthur J. Minasy, 21 Elm St., Woodhul'y, N.Y. 11797 Filed Apr. 17, 1967, Ser. No. 631,518 Int. Cl. E04}: 3/16 U.S. Cl. 4-172 8 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Formation of swimming pool by means of premolded plastic panels in edge to edge relationship, the panels being formed with integral deck and seats and being specially configured in plan and along their edges to combine ease of assembly with versatility.

This invention relates to prefabricated structures and more particularly it concerns a novel prefabricated swimming pool construction.

In recent times the demand for private swimming pools has increased considerably. By and large however, the cost of backyard and private pools has remained quite high. These high costs have been attributed both to materials and to construction expenses. I

To a certain extent, some of the expenses involved in the building of new pools have been reduced by the development of above ground designs. However, these above ground designs still require specialized skills and considerable time and eifort in assembly.

The present invention permits simple and rapid assembly of a swimming pool either above or below ground level. This is achieved by means of a novel swimming pool design which incorporates prefabrication techniques in conjunction with special plastic materials.

According to the present invention a plurality of premolded plastic side panels are made with edge sections which fit closely together when the panels are placed in upright condition. The panels are arranged in edge to edge formation to enclose a swimming area; and then tension strap means are placed around the outside of the enclosing structure to resist hydrostatic forces. Bottom panels are provided and are sealed to the side panels and means are provided to seal the thus enclosed interior from water leakage.

In the illustrated embodiments the premolded panels are formed with deck seat and back portions, so that when the panels are assembled, no subsequent construction is needed to form these items. Moreover, the cross sectional configuration of the panels resulting from the integrally molded deck, seat and back portions serves to nigidify the panels themselves thereby augmenting the overall structural rigidity of the finished pool.

The individual panels moreover may be formed in straight, curved or corner sections so that by proper selection of panels, any shape pool may be achieved.

There has thus been outlined rather broadly the more important features of the invention in order that the detailed description thereof that follows may be better understood, and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated. There are, of course, additional features of the invention that will be described hereinafter and which will form the subject of the claims appended hereto. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the conception upon which this disclosure is based may readily be utilized as a basis for the designing of other structures for carrying out the several purposes of the invention. It is important, therefore, that the claims be regarded as including such equivalent constructions as do not depart from the spirit and scope of the invention.

Specific embodiments of the invention have been chosen for purposes of illustration and description, and is 3,443,263 Patented May 13, 1969 shown in the accompanying drawings forming a part of the specification, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a finished pool forming one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view, partially in section, of the pool of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view illustrating the panel configuration and assembly technique used in the embodiment of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a front elevational view of a curved panel used in the embodiment of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a cross sectional view, taken in elevation showing the pool of FIG. 1 arranged below ground level and modified 'with the addition of a diving bowl;

FIGS. 6 and 7 are fragmentary perspective views illustrating alternate panel edge joining and sealing techniques used in the present invention; and

FIGS. 842 inclusive, illustrate various pool plan configurations which may be achieved by the panel assembly techniques of the present invention.

As can be seen in FIGS. 1 and 2, a pool, depicted generally as 10 is constructed to rest upon a surface 11 which may be the ground or some other specially prepared surface. In general the pool 10 is made up of a plurality of peripheral panels arranged to form an enclosure and a plurality of bottom panels located within the enclosed region. The peripheral panels include a pair of corner panels 14 separated by a pair of straight end panels 16 to define one end of the pool 10. A plurality of straight side panels 18 extend from the corner panels 14 toward the opposite end of the pool. A pair of round front end panels 20 complete the front end construction of the pool 10. A plurality of generally rectangularly configured flat bottom panels 22 are located within the enclosure formed by the side, corner and end panels 16-20. The region at the front end of the bottom of the pool 10 is formed by a semicircular flat bottom panel 24.

The various corner, end and side panels 14, 16, 18 and 20 are of various configurations as viewed in the plan view of FIG. 1. However, as shown in the cross sectional portions of FIG. 2 each of these panels includes a side Wall 26 portion, a deck portion 28 which extends horizontally back away from the side wall portion 26, an upwardly inclined back wall portion 30 and a seat projection 32 which protrudes outwardly from the back wall portion 30. Additionally, at the bottom of the side wall portion 26 there is provided a lower lip 34 which extends a short distance in toward the center of the pool 10. The various panels are placed in assembly in edge to edge relationship and their edges are joined together in a manner to be explained more fully hereinafter. Additionally, as shown in FIG. 2, various tension straps 36 are placed about the assembled panels and are tightened as by means of turn buckles 38 to hold the panels together in resistance to hydrostatic forces produced by water contained within the pool 10.

A ladder 40 may be provided to extend up to the deck 28 from the ground 12 at any of the straight panels 18. As shown in FIG. 1 the ladder 40 is arranged at one of the straight end panels 16. At this portion of the panel, the back wall 30 and seat projection 32 are cut away so as to permit access to and egress from the pool itself.

The various individual panels may be formed by plastic molding techniques; and they may incorporate any of a. number of known moldable plastic materials. For example, the panels may be formed of fiberglass or similar reinforced or high density plastic. Additionally, they may be formed of rigid expanded plastic foam or they may be formed of plastic impregnated sawdust.

Turning now to FIG. 3, it will be seen that a typical side panel 18 is assembled by placing it into adjacent edge abutting relationship with another side panel 18".

3 In order to permit this abutting relationship, the plane defined by edges of the side wall portion 26, the deck portion 28, the back wall portion 30 and the seat projection 32 all lie perpendicularly to the plane of the lower lip 34.

Additional reinforcing is provided by buttress plates 42 which extend along the outside surface of the side wall 26 and lower surface of the deck 28. The buttress plates 42 serve to rigidify the overall structure. They may be molded integrally with the panels themselves or they may be made separately to be installed when the panels are being assembled. The buttress Walls 42 are provided with strap accommodating indentations 44 which serve to locate and secure the tension straps 36 when they are placed about the outer periphery of the pool 10.

A nose coping 46 is integrally molded to the front edge of the deck 28 where it meets the side wall 26 in order to relieve stresses and to prevent damage to the corner formed by these two elements.

Turning now to FIG. 4, it will be seen that the round front end panels 20, although different in plan configuration from the side panels 18, nevertheless are formed with a lower lip 34, a side wall portion 26, a deck portion 28 and a back wall portion 30 with a seat projection 32. It is also important to note that the plane defined by the edges of these various elements in all cases lies perpendicular to the same plane in which the lower lip 34 rests. Thus in assembly, irrespective of the plan configuration of the individual panels, their edges abut closely to form a continuous integral structure. As a result of this, the panels may be assembled in edge abutting relationship to form any of several desired pool configurations.

As shown in FIG. the above described pool construction may readily be adapted for below grade installations. In such cases, the tension straps may be omitted since the ground itself will provide the necessary opposition to hydrostatic forces caused by the pressure of the water contained in the pool. In the arrangement of FIG. 5 a portion of the bottom panels 22 and 24 is omitted and in their place a flexible vinyl liner 48 is substituted. The vinyl liner 48 covers a diving bowl region 50 which is dug out from a portion of the ground at the bottom of the pool. The vinyl liner may be sealed to the lower lip 34 of the various peripheral panels by the use of any well known and readily available plastic adhesive material.

FIGS. 6 and 7 show alternate edge adjoining arrangements for the various peripheral panels making up the pool 10. As shown in FIG. 6, the edge of one panel 18 may be formed with a tongue 52 while the adjoining panel 18' may be formed with a corresponding groove 54. This tongue and groove arrangement is kept purposely loose with a finite amount of clearance 56 between the two adjoining pieces. Within the region 56 a resilient sealing material such as rubber or resilient plastic may be provided. This material will accommodate dimensional variations caused by temperature and other ambient changes.

An alternate end adjoining arrangement may be provided as shown in FIG. 7 utilizing simply abutting end edges 58 of adjoining panels 18 and 18. Here again, a finite distance is maintained between the adjacent end edges and a sealing material 60 is used to seal the opening between the two adjacent panels. It will of course be obvious to those skilled in the art that the entire interior of the pool may be lined with a flexible sheet material liner such as vinyl or the like.

FIGS. 8-13, illustrate various pool configurations which may be obtained by virtue of the construction techniques of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 8, the pool may take a fan shape in plan having a flat short end and a scalloped broad end. This is achieved by the use of various straight, corner and round panels 62, 64, 66 and 68. It will be noted from the location of the panel junction lines 70 that the panels come together at locations which permit their edge surfaces to join fully and completely.

Similarly, as shown in FIG. 9 a trapezoidal-shaped pool may be provided by the use of special corner panels 72 and 74, together with a plurality of straight panels 76. A Catalina pool plan is shown in FIG. 10. Here again, this may be constructed by the proper of preshaped rounded convex panels 78 and concave panels 80.

FIG. 11 illustrates a Caribbean pool configuration which is made up of specially shaped corner panels 82 and 84 together with rounded panels 86 and 88, straight panels 90 and slightly curved panels 92.

The pool configuration as shown in FIG. 12, known conventionally as a Seaboard configuration, is also made up of specially configured corner panels 94 and 96 to gether with rounded panels 98 and straight panels 100.

It will be appreciated that in spite of the apparent complexity of the various pool configurations shown in FIGS. 8-12, the constructional difiiculties in assem'blying the pool are rendered completely independent of the desired pool shape. Instead, these difficulties are overcome by the provision of special preformed panel shapes which are readily assembled.

Moreover, by virtue of the specially chosen locations for the panel edges with respect to the pool shape itself, i.e., away from corners and the like, it is possible to assemble these panels in smooth fitting relationship and to avoid excessive stresses which are caused by the pressure of the water in the pool acting against the various corners.

Having thus described my invention with particular reference to the preferred forms thereof, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art to which the invention pertains, after understanding my invention, that various changes and modifications may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention, as defined by the claims appended thereto.

What is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

1. A swimming pool construction comprising a plurality of premolded plastic panels configured to be positioned in upright position in edge to edge relationship to form an enclosed area, said panels formed with an upstanding wall portion and integrally molded deck, back and seat portions, means connecting the adjoining edges of the panels and a waterproof bottom layer of plastic material sealed to the bottom edges of the panels.

2. A swimming pool construction as in claim 1 wherein the entire portion of each end edge of each panel lies in a common plane.

3. A swimming pool construction as in claim 2 wherein said common planes are perpendicular to the bottom edge of said panels.

4. A swimming pool construction as in claim 1 Wherein the edge configurations of the adjoining panels are identical.

5. A swimming pool construction comprising a plurality of premolded plastic panels configured to be positioned in upright position in edge to edge relationship to form an enclosed area, said panels formed with an upstanding wall portion and an integrally molded deck portion, means connecting the adjoining edges of the panels, buttress plates extending perpendicular to said upstanding wall portions on the outside thereof and supporting said deck portion.

6. A swimming pool construction as in claim 5 wherein said buttress plates are integrally molded to their respective panels.

7. A swimming pool construction as in claim 5 wherein tension straps are provided to encircle said panels, said tension straps being positioned in notches formed in said buttress plates.

8. A swimming pool construction according to claim 1 wherein said means connecting the adjoining edges of the panels comprises a resilient means permitting expansion and contraction of said panels.

(References on following page) References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS OCODHCII 4-172 OConnell 4-172 Gregory 4-172 5 Kascle 4-172 Lattuca 4-172 Lucchesi 4-172 Diamond et a1. 4-172 FOREIGN PATENTS 3/1961 Italy.

LAVERNE D. GEIGER, Primary Examiner.

H. K. ARTIS, Assistant Examiner. 

